The Bachelor of Fine Arts, BFA, with a concentration in Studio Art is a professional degree consisting of 120
hours with an emphasis in Studio Art and a concentration in painting.
The BFA Studio Art program is designed to offer studnets a more specialized program
of study. Students will experience a greater emphasis on art courses in the BA program,
graduating with a more intensive studio background.
The degree requires 18 credit hours of selected media area coursework as well as a
three-credit-hour professional development capstone course.
All incoming undergraduate students complete Freshman Foundations courses their freshman year. After completing foundations, students are eligible
to apply for the BFA.
Intermediate level topic-based courses provide sustained study of varied approaches
to painting, including:
_Figure and landscape painting
_Formal and perceptual abstraction
_Contemporary approaches to representation
_Water media
Upper-level classes reinforce the idea of painting as a practice of inquiry. Research,
questioning, and systematic experimentation form the basis for the development of
an individual voice in painting.
In addition to individualized studio instruction, the advanced student interacts with
their peers, other faculty and visiting artists as well as engaging with the community.
Professional skills are developed that prepare the student to join the community of
professional artists.
BFA students are required to participate in individual and group critiques by presenting
their work to faculty, visiting artists, and other students. In addition, BFA students
may be required to go on painting-focused trips to urban art centers such as Chicago,
Dallas, Kansas City, and New York.